


Makeshift Family

by itsthymetoread



Series: Dysfunctional Family [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Gen, Implied Killugon, M/M, Post-Chimera Ant Arc, The Author doesn’t know how to tag, Trans Alluka Zoldyck, implied leopika, like it’s there but just kinda mentioned, petition to add illumi to leorio’s people to punch list
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25460989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsthymetoread/pseuds/itsthymetoread
Summary: Family hasn’t ever been usual for any of them, but they all have each other, and that just might be enough.Or: An exploration on our favorite quartet’s thoughts on their little dysfunctional family.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Series: Dysfunctional Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1844200
Comments: 1
Kudos: 91





	Makeshift Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! It’s Thyme here!  
> So this is my first work on Ao3, and honestly my first posted story or fanfic ever, so I was a little worried about how this would work out. I’ve wanted to get back into writing for a little while, and recently fell in LOVE with Hunter X Hunter. I also found DecemberCamie and they probably write some of the best stuff I’ve ever read and are honestly the reason I wrote this. Just a warning, this is after the Chimera Ant Arc, so if you haven’t finished that, be warned of spoilers!

Family, Leorio thinks, is the single most precious thing in the known world. Not everybody may agree, but to him, a boy who grew up on the streets with only the clothes on his back and his friend by his side, family is the most important thing a person can have. Family doesn’t have to be a blood relative. Family is whoever fits the role, whoever _he_ chooses. Family, Leorio will do anything for. And he thinks that those three boys that he met just a few years prior might be the best addition he’s ever added to his self-made family. 

He’s the oldest out of the four of them, and so he vows to himself to protect them as best as he can, and if he can’t protect them, then he’ll do his damndest to help them. He remembers Gon, the boy that breathed nature and joy, laying cold and motionless on a hospital bed, confined to four cold metal walls and a single glass window. 

He thinks of Killua, the boy that he’ll never admit his fondness for, and least not in front of the boy himself, with eyes too sad for his young age and sitting on a bench alone, back hunched and face hidden from the world. No, he won’t let that happen again, won’t sit by and _let_ it happen again. 

So with all the stubbornness he can muster, he’ll help Kurapika on this journey of his, if not to help the blonde, then to support him when he needs it, because the younger boy tries to hide everything behind a mild-mannered facade, and Leorio knows all too well how thin and hollow and easily breakable that mask is. 

This family Leorio has built around him is by no means perfect. If he’s being honest, he’s probably never met more troublesome and annoying and scarily talented people, (and though Hisoka could definitely fall under all of those categories, he admits, he’d really rather not think of the clown if he doesn’t have to), but he wouldn’t change it for the world. 

Leorio will admit, he and Kurapika got off on the wrong foot, but as time passed and they traversed the Hunter Exam together, he couldn’t help but see past some of those walls the other had built. Not even close to all of them, he knows, but he broke down a couple of the layers the blonde tried to push down, to suppress as to not distract him from his goal. 

The witty retorts and sarcasm, the juvenile joy at some of the smallest things, like the light of a sunset lighting the clouds a myriad of colors. The way this boy, only a few years his junior but many years above him in skill level, shattered an entire hotel room toilet when he saw a spider the size of a thumbtack. How relaxed he could be when he _just let himself_. 

So even when Kurapika won’t _answer his damn phone_ , Leorio will always be there when the younger hunter needs him. Because Kurapika tells himself that he’s alone, and Leorio wouldn’t wish loneliness upon anyone, not when he knows how painful it is, so he’ll be there to fill the canyons that the Phantom Troupe left in their wake, even if only filling the smallest crevices at a time. 

And if Leorio finds the blond pretty, and can’t help but think of Kurapika and all the times the blonde gave him that exasperated look that screamed ‘I’m so done’ and ‘Are we really sure you’re the oldest one here?’, well, that’s neither here nor there. 

When Leorio first meets Gon, he’s not really sure what to make of the boy dressed in- what even is he wearing? That much green should not be acceptable on any piece of clothing. And yet somehow it still suits the small boy, all sunshine smiles and excited eyes and unwavering faith and trust in complete strangers. 

Leorio wants to scoff, because this much naiveté can only get you hurt in the long run. And then in a storm, this boy _leaps_ over the edge of the deck to save a man he’s exchanged only a few words with, someone he jumped for not even knowing if anyone would save him. And really, this child worries Leorio, because he’s so utterly _reckless_ , and Leorio’s no stranger to being called old, but at this rate he might actually go gray before he becomes a doctor. 

After the Hunter Exam, Leorio and Gon go their separate ways, and meet up for a few little, and not so little, excursions. And then he leaves to NGL, and when he’s brought back, Leorio is staring at a husky of a boy. Then he’s healed, and Leorio can’t help but cry when they reunite, happy and hopeful that everything’s all right. 

And though the 12 little boy he once knew isn’t _gone_ , per say, there’s no denying that he’s different, and it’s not that hard to see. So when Gon’s eyes loose focus on that nothing in the distance, or stare intently at his right arm like it’s something foreign, Leorio will ruffle his hair, and the boy will yelp in startled surprise, and laugh, and the spell is broken, even if just temporarily, and Leorio will break that spell as many times as he needs to. 

And then there’s Killua. Honestly, the brat annoys him to no end, and he knows most of the adult, and general human population agrees, because really, Killua _excels_ at pissing people off, and the boy knows it. And at first, that’s all Leorio can see under that mop of silver hair. 

But Leorio grew up on the streets in a run down neighborhood. He knows the signs of an unhealthy childhood, and his heart cries for the youngest member of their little quartet. He sees how the boy tenses when Gon hugs him, the small flinches when Kurapika sets a gentle hand on his shoulder, so small that nobody would’ve seen it if they weren’t looking for it. 

And after discovering Killua was raised in a family of _assassins_ (and really that makes so much more sense than it should), Leorio makes a point to try to introduce Killua to as many positive touches as he can. He sees the pure confusion on the boy’s face the first time Leorio ruffles his hair (and wow his hair is _really_ soft), but the blue eyed boy just shrugs it off. 

And he sees through the course of time how he starts to flinch less, and smile more. He also grows progressively more aggravating if you ask Leorio, but if you ask anyone else they’ll tell you how much he loves that little brat, and how badly he wants to punch Illumi in the face, because he already punched Ging in the face, so he might as well go on with the list. 

He sees how much the boy pulls into himself when Gon is in the hospital, and then how much more _confident_ in himself he seems to be after he rescues his (adorable, so so adorable and sweet how are they related) sister and saves Gon. He goes on his way, and Leorio is sad to see him go again, not that he’ll ever admit it, but knows that they’ll meet again, and knows how much Killua needs this journey. 

So Leorio’s little makeshift family is a mess, and it’s really just a complete and utter disaster, but he wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y’all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Honestly I love Leorio he’s a wonderful human being and we don’t get enough of him. I plan on hopefully doing all four of the main quartet’s thoughts on each other, so hopefully this drive stays with me. Also, I don’t have a beta so forgive me for any mistakes I missed! Anyways, I hope y’all stay safe out there right now!!


End file.
